Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico condemned the death of a 19-year-old national while in ICE custody, declaring it "unacceptable" and demanding a "thorough investigation."

Royer Perez-Jimenez died on March 16 at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, after being found "unconscious and unresponsive" by a prison camp guard.

"He died of a presumed suicide; however, the official cause of his death remains under investigation," ICE claimed in a statement released on Wednesday that repeatedly disparaged Perez-Jimenez as a "criminal illegal alien."

The teenager is the third Mexican citizen to die while under the care of ICE in 2026.

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"The Mexican government reiterates that such deaths are unacceptable and again demands a prompt and thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding this death, determine accountability, and put in place effective guarantees of non-recurrence," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that it will take the "necessary diplomatic steps" and pursue "all available legal avenues" to support the family.

At least 30 people died last year while being held in US immigration detention centers, the highest death toll since 2004.

President Claudia Sheinbaum's government has demanded that case reports and documents be provided to Mexico City, and Mexico's consulate general in Miami has visited the detention center, the statement confirmed.

Perez-Jimenez was transferred into ICE custody on February 21 and at intake denied any behavioral issues and answered "no" to all suicide screening questions.